After two years of darkness, Bethlehem is once again alight with Christmas decorations, offering hope to Palestinian Christians caught up in a war not their own, and hope of salvation for Muslims and Jews who do not yet know the Messiah who was born so humbly in a manger there.
Over the last couple of weeks, Hamas returned to Israel the remains of Dror Or, 48, and agricultural worker Sudthisak Rinthalak, 43, from Rattanawapi, Thailand, both of whom were killed in Kibbutz Be’eri during the October 7, 2023 attack. Dror’s wife was also murdered by terrorists two years ago. Their children, Noam and Alma, were abducted alive, but then released in November of 2023.
Let’s join in praise that only one of the 151 hostages taken from Israel on October 7, 2023 remains in Gaza: the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, 24. All the other hostages who died are now accounted for and in Israel. And all live hostages have been released or rescued. Go to our Israel-Gaza page to pray for their healing and salvation by name.
In Gaza, Hamas has long ruled through terrorism. Many Palestinians want freedom from such oppression and hate what Hamas has done to their families and their country through starting and continuing war with Israel. This past week, a prominent leader in the anti-Hamas movement, Yasser Abu Shabab, was killed.
Pray God will raise up thousands in Yasser’s place and defeat Hamas once and for all, so Gaza can at last have peace. Pray these will seek Truth with all their hearts and find Jesus, and a great church-planting movement will spread all throughout Gaza, with hearts set on fire with passion for the Lord, loving Him and others with all their hearts. Pray God will rebuild Gaza with Christ as their foundation, and make it a light even unto Israel. Already many Palestinians have turned to the Lord. Pray for a great awakening in every heart.
Let’s continue praying for the 171 who survived abduction at the hands of Hamas, and the families of those who died, that they will hunger for Truth, seek the Lord with all their hearts, hear the good news and be saved. Pray God will bring to them Christians who will show them His love, and replace hatred and unforgiveness with freedom and grace. Pray He will work in every life in such powerful ways they will know the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. John 14:6.
Pray for every man and woman in the Israeli Defense Forces, Shin Bet, and in military and government leadership positions, for every Israeli citizen and for the settlers on the West Bank, that God’s first and sixth commands (Exodus 20:2,13) would rise up and blare at them through every decision, so that the slaughter of innocent Palestinians will stop. Pray they will love the Lord their God with all their hearts and love others as themselves. Exodus 20, Matthew 22:37-40. Pray they will lay down their idols and God will open their eyes to see Him as He truly is. Pray for a great movement of the Holy Spirit in Israel, showing every heart their Messiah has come, and they will have the courage to receive Christ’s salvation and truly LIVE. John 3:16, 10:10.
Pray for the perhaps two million or so Palestinians in Gaza, two million in Israel, three million in the West Bank and more than 7.5 million in other countries, that every heart will experience Christ in such powerful ways, they will lay aside the violence and terror of Islam and choose the love, grace, forgiveness, peace, joy and freedom found only in Christ. Pray God will give them dreams and visions every night showing them the way to salvation. Pray He will break the chains that bind them to a false religion of oppression and hatred, and set them free to surrender their lives to the One who gave His life so they can truly live. Pray God will bring to them Christians who will love them into His arms and speak truth to them in a way they can easily understand. Pray for a mighty movement of the Spirit in every heart in every nation, and all will turn to Jesus to be saved.
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Mikaela Vincent and her husband are missionaries who live by faith, trusting in God to provide for their needs as they pray for and share Christ with the nations. If you would like to help their ministry through a donation, or by shopping at Mikaela’s online bookstore, click the buttons below:
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